An Explorer in His Own Country
by Árpád Göncz

In 1936 Zoltán Szabó published a book on social conditions in the village of Tard, a book whose reverberations can still be felt today.

We publish the address given by the President of the Republic at Tard on the occasion of unveiling a memorial to Zoltán Szabó. President Göncz, himself a writer, notes the impact Zoltán Szabó and some of his fellow writers had on his own generation. He also examines how Zoltán Szabó treated the events of 1945 and the 1956 Revolution.

The Situation at Tard (excerpts)
by Zoltán Szabó

The extracts here describe the diet of children living on the smallest landholdings, the conditions under which seasonal jobbing labour was carried out and the spinning rooms, the recognized centre for the social life of the young.

Tard 1936-1998
by Ferenc Gerlóczy

Finally, a comparison between the Tard of today and that described so memorably by Zoltán Szabó.

Poems (Translated by George Szirtes)
by István Csukás

"What happened to Twenty Kilos?", "Poem for Christmas", "Twenty Kilos Regained",

The Melancholy of Resistance,
by László Krasznahorkai

Published in 1989, the novel was immediately recognized as an important work by an important writer. The novel is introduced here by its translator, the English poet George Szirtes, and we extract from his translation, which will be brought out early in 1999 by Quartet Books. This is an excerpt from the first chapter.

Where's the Storyteller Running Off To?
by László Márton

In a witty polemic, the writer discusses a charge made against him and his fellow post-modernists, namely that they are "running away from reality". He illustrates the every day problems of a writer in terms of "real" space and the "real" present. The more appropriate question¸ he concludes, is where the writer is running to?

DISCUSSION

This section follows from an article in THQ 149 by Gustáv Molnár, in which he argues from Huntingdon's hypothesis and Transylvania's markedly different historical and cultural development, that autonomy for Transylvania would help Romania bind itself to European integration more strongly.

We here publish two of the significant responses to that article which have been published in Romania, along with Gustáv Molnár's rejoinder to them.

The Transylvanian Issue and the Issue of Europe
by Gabriel Andreescu

The director of the Centre for Human Rights in Bucharest begins by taking up the plate-tectonic metaphor used by Gustáv Molnár. H eagrees that the "Transylvanian vote practically decided the national [Romanian election] results" and attempts to place this within the Romanaian political context. He points out that the plate-tectonic metaphor presupposes "the inertia of culturally homogeneous areas", a presupposition that both history and the current movement towards European integration do not support. Finally he argues that devolution cannot be expected in the near future.

Illusions and Facts
by Sorin Mitu

In his initial summary of the Molnár article, the historian stresses that Huntingdon's hypothesis has not been met with universal acceptance. Indeed the Romanian political opinion has "knee-jerk" reactions to terms such as autonomy. He goes on to discuss how Transylvania differs from the rest of Romania, and its particularism. The article closes by returning to the issue of federalization.

Transylvania—A Rejoinder
by Gusztáv Molnár

This rejoinder begins by observing the options open to Romania have narrowed since the government vame to office in 1996. After following Andreescu's argument, he claims that the current state of affairs in Romania more closely resembles that in Russia than that in Poland or the Czech Republic. In responding to Sorin Mitu's comments, his conclusion is that trends show an "unprecedently acute" difference between Transylvania and the rest of Romania.

This isuue contains photographs selected by Péter Kornis himself from the album, Inventory, he published in conjunction with his highly successful 1998 exhibition. The album is also reviewed by Sándor Kányádi, the Transylvanian poet.

From Spontaneous to Post-Privatization
by Éva Voszka

The author, herself a distinguished economist specializing in aspects of the post-communist economy, reviews Támás Sárközy's latest book on the transition and post-privatization. She outlines his tripartite division of the post-communist economies. Then follows a discussion of his claim that privatization in Hungary has been completed, and comments on bringing an end to privatization in Hungary.

Why Budapest
by Rosie Johnson

This is a splendid vignette of the Budapest of the mid-nineties, seen through the eyes of a foreigner with no family or professional links to Hungary and its culture. (We also review an important new English-languager history of Budapest under The Invisible City.)

Custodians of the Future
by Nicholas T. Parsons

In this extract from his forthcoming book on British influence on reformong 19th century Hungary, Nicholas T. Parsons examines how the reformers looked to Britain in their quest to modernize a feudally backward country. The differences between the reformers also had their roots in the previous century and especially in freemasonry. There were divisions over practical measures too. The position of Scotland vis a vis England had implications for Hungary's vis a vis Austria.

Kádár and the Prague Spring
by Miklós Kun

The historian uses newly available material to assess János Kádár's behaviour during 1968 in relation to the developing crisis in Czechoslovakia. Initially not without sympathy with the Czechoslovak reformers, by the Warsaw Pact Summit in Sofia in the spring of 1968, he had turned against Dubcek and the reformers. In constsant touch with Brezhnev in the Kremlin, at one point he was to deliver a message to the reformers. Nevertheless Dubcek still had trust in Kádár. A turning point was the manifesto published in Prague, 2000 Words, which convinced Kádár that intervention was necessary.

Diplomacy in a Pissoir describes a bizarre incident in the crisis, involving a letter from Czechoslovak hardliners inviting Soviet armed intervention.

The Visible City
by George Szirtes

This is a review of the just published An Illustrated History of Budapest, by Géza Buzinkay, which examines the combinations and complexities of Budapest's past.

The Book of Cleansing Sadness
by Sándor Kányádi

As a Transylvanian poet, Kányádi explores the meaning of Péter Kornis's photographs.

Plays and Players
by Tamás Koltai

Our regular drama reviewer looks at a provocative new book by György Spiró, one of the most performed of contemporary Hungarian playwrights. Spiró's subject is the doubling of parts in Shakespeare's plays and its structural consequences, with some strikingly original insights.